Til Next We meet
by Kidara
Summary: Prowl, Sunstreaker and a team of Autobots find themselves the only remaining Autobots on Cybertron after the Ark is forced to leave without them. a JazzxProwl story. G1 Au.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** Not Beta-read.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Transformers, Hasbro does I think.

Prowl stood on the edge of the ruined city. Darkness surrounded him, light from the heavily damaged moon cast only enough light to dimly highlight the destroyed buildings. Ever present fog swirled lazily about, adding to the haunted image the once beautiful city now portrayed.

Optics turned off, he stood unmoving, his doorwings drooping on his back. He came here every cycle. It was risky, standing out here in the open. But he couldn't stay away. Illogical as it was, this was the closest he could get to the place where he had said goodbye to his best friend. And where he had finally realized too late that he loved that friend deeper then he would have thought possible.

Lost in thought, he paid no attention to the soft tremors running through the planets surface. They were almost constant now. Sometimes just a vibration, other times the planet shook hard enough to bring down any walls that might remain standing. There was no denying that Cybertrons cycles were numbered.

A noise sounded softly behind him, and Prowl turned on-lining his optics to search the shadows. Finding nothing there, he shifted back to gaze out across the landscape. He should be recharging. But he found his mind constantly returning to those last few moments that he had spoken to Jazz. Almost three vorns ago now. Had it really been that long?

"_Prowler, where are you? The 'Cons are attacking and we have to lift off soon" There was an almost desperate quality in Jazz' voice that the tactician had never heard before._

"_Jazz..." He hesitated, his battle computer telling him it was the only way. "We can't get back, the decepticons have every route blocked. You have to take off without us."_

_There was silence across the comm line for a couple klicks. "No! We can't just leave you there. Ill send out a team to clear the way."_

"_Mirage and Sunstreaker have already confirmed that the decepticons have even more reinforcements on the way. Get the Ark out of there. That's an order!" _

_Prowl terminated the communications regretfully, unable to listen to his friend try to find a solution that didn't exist. Turning to his team, he explained the situation, preparing himself as he did so for their objections. There were none. Just sad acceptance. Quietly he suggested they contact anyone on the ship that they wished to while they could._

_Standing a little ways apart from his team, he watched as each opened a private comm line to those they cared about. He wanted to re-establish his own line with Jazz, yet he forced himself to remain still. He had no need for good byes. He hated that they sounded so final. _

_His gaze narrowed on the twins that First Aid was trying to keep a grip on while talking on his own comm line. Their small forms curled tightly against the medics. One was a dark blue with black highlights, while the other was a solid black. He had no idea how they had gotten out here alone, and he doubted he would ever know. He only knew that if Mirage hadn't found them and called him, that they would have offlined due to low energy. They may still offline. He may have only delayed it._

_He jerked as his comm line beeped at him and he activated it automatically._

"_Prowl, we are almost ready to leave." Jazz hesitated, then continued on hurriedly. " You should head for Praxus. Get away from Iacon."_

"_Why Praxus?"_

"_The 'cons consider it haunted. They avoid it at all costs. It would be the safest place for your team."_

"_Thanks Jazz. As soon as everyone is ready we will head out." _

_Silence reined for a few moments before both spoke softly._

"_Jazz..."_

"_Prowler..."_

_A hesitation again then prowl spoke up. "I don't like goodbyes, Jazz. You have been my best friend, and for that I am truly grateful. I will miss you until the next time we meet. Even if it is in the well of Allsparks."_

"_Until next time, Prowler" Jazz hurriedly cut the connection, but not before prowl heard a softly whispered "Love you."_

"Prowl."

Sunstreaker's voice jerked prowl out of his thoughts and he whirled to face the frontliner. His optics widening at the sight of the blue sparkling curled against the mechs chest plates. Up until now, Sunstreaker had ignored the sparklings completely. He growled at prowl, daring him to comment. The tactician wisely remained silent.

"Wheeljack and Mirage are back. We should finalize the plans for tomorrow."

Prowl nodded then turned back to gaze out over the landscape once again. "Ill be there shortly."

He paid no attention the other mechs leaving. His processor already drawing him back into the past, replaying the Arks departure behind closed optics.

Tomorrow was a new cycle. And it would either mean the start of a new journey to find the mech he loved, or it would mean the end of his life. Either way, he would not regret it.


	2. Stasis and Younglings

**Notes:** Not Beta-read. Thankies to **Red eyes black phoenix, ReveilleWolfie, SIC-Calypso,** and **Daklog73 **for the reviews. You guys are awesome. And i am sorry to say that the neither of the sparklings is Bluestreak. He is on the ark with Jazz.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Transformers, Hasbro does I think.

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><p>Prowl shifted, stretching his doorwings as best he could. Obviously the decepticons had few praxians serving on board their ships because nearly every feature about this supply ship tended to be built toward hard curves. The cramp moved from his wings to his lower back and with a low growl he shoved the datapad back and stood up.<p>

Making his way towards the command center, Prowl allowed his mind to drift. Vorns had passed while he and his team had planned their mission. They had gone over every detail, made backup plans, and even had contingency plans.

Wheeljack had been studying the planets seismic activities, which had been getting worse as time passed. Cybertron had been tearing itself apart, a result of the endless war that had plundered her resources. He had estimated that the planet would be uninhabitable within five vorns, and completely destroyed within a hundred.

It had become imperative that he get the few mechs left under his command off the planet. So they had planned. In the end all the planning had been needless. The decepticons hadn't looked twice as they infiltrated the former Iacon base. It had been simple to steal the supply ship and leave Cybertron behind.

That had been just under four _millenia_ ago. A fact Prowl was still having trouble getting used to. Not long after they had left Cybertron he had been forced to order his small crew into stasis. There had been no energon or energy sources that they could find. So he had put the ship on autopilot and set its computer to reawaken them should energy sources be found. Or if any signs of the Ark and its crew were discovered. The ships computer had brought them back online twenty five vorns ago having discovered sector after sector of energy rich sources.

Four _millenia_ in stasis. Doubt clouded Prowls processor these cycles. At the beginning of this trip all Prowl had wanted was to find Jazz. He still did. His spark ached with the need to see the fun loving saboteur again. But with all the time that had passed, things had probably changed. Jazz could have found someone, fallen in love, bonded. Or he could be dead. Prowls spark clenched at that last thought.

He forcefully shoved his thoughts aside as he entered the command center, pausing as the sound of arguing reached his audios.

"Crystal Spark!"

"Shadow Cruiser."

"No, Crystal Spark."

"Shadow Cruiser!"

Prowl watched as Blaster and Sunstreaker leaned towards one another, their voices raising as they continued to argue. A movement caught his attention and he shifted his gaze towards the navigation and weapons consoles where the twin younglings, Shade and Blue-Rey sat.

The twins were watching the two older mechs arguing. Each had an almost identical frown on their faceplates. Their gazes switching back and forth between Blaster and Sunstreaker. Blue-Rey shifted nervously before casting a glance at his twin.

Ever since the two spark-split younglings had upgraded, Prowl had noticed that they seemed uneasy whenever members of the crew argued. Deciding to ask them about it later, he turned his attention back to the argument.

"What is going on?"

Blaster and Sunstreaker jumped and whirled to face him. Guilty looks flickered briefly across their faces.

"We were just discussing what the ships new name should be."

"The ship has a name already."

"I really don't want to spend the rest of our time on a ship named the Forsaken." Sunstreaker scowled.

"Its just unlucky. I mean, who else but the Decepticons would name a ship that?" Blaster grimaced and turned back towards his monitors.

Prowl sighed, admitting to himself that they did have a point. "Very well, we will take a vote at the meeting later today. Whatever the outcome, that will be the ships new name."

Prowl turned from them to face the twins. "It is time for your lesson, are you ready?"

The twins darted from their seats to stand in front of him. Prowl blinked, still not quite used to their speed. Motioning them out the door, he paused to shoot one last reprimanding glance at the mechs remaining in the room before following the twins out.

It was much later in the cycle and the entire crew, including the twins, were gathered in the briefing room. A datapad had been passed around and votes on the ships new name had been taken. Prowl was in the midst of verifying the results.

He glanced up from the datapad. "The ships new name will be the Crystal Spark."

There were a couple groans and several rather jubilant responses. Prowl glanced around the table in startlement, not having realized that the simple task of renaming the ship would cause such a response in the crew.

"Alright, is there anything new to report on the sectors we will be passing?" He leaned back, turning the meeting over to Blaster.

"Sector scans indicate two systems up ahead that might benefit from a more detailed look. The only problem is that the they're quite a distance from each other. To explore them properly, we will either have to spend over a vorn in the area, or send a recon team to one of the sectors while the ship goes to the other." Blaster leaned forward over the table, bracing his servos under his chin.

"I do not like the idea of splitting the crew up. It might be different if there were more of-"

Shade broke in, cutting Prowls sentence off. "Send us."

Blue-Rey jerked a glance at his brother then hurriedly nodded. "Yes, send us. You have been saying that we needed a training mission that was off ship."

Prowl stared at the twins as Blaster, Mirage and First Aid began to speak at once.

"No absolutely not!"

"Your still just younglings!"

"We wouldn't be able to get near you in time if you needed assistance."

Shade leaned forward, meeting the optics of the other mechs. "You've spent the last 25 vorns training us. We are probably better trained then most mechs were in the autobot army. Its time that we are allowed to see what we can do."

Prowl remained silent as the other three immediately began to argue again. Realizing that neither Sunstreaker nor Wheeljack were joining in on the conversation he glanced first at his SIC then at the engineer. Sunstreaker wore a calculating look on his faceplates, realizing Prowl was looking at him, he met the others optics and nodded. The engineer shifted slightly in his chair before also nodding at his commander.

"Enough. Shade, Blue-Rey. After this meeting you will report to the medbay to have your transformation cogs installed. After that I want you to go over our scans of the two sectors and choose one. Plan out a mission. Bring it to tomorrows meeting and we will go over the details."

The twins looked ecstatic while the others instantly began to argue again. Prowl cut them off with a stern clearing of his vents.

"They are right, we have trained them for this. While we still have more to train them, somethings they also need to learn on their own. This meeting is over. We will meet here tomorrow at the same time to go over the details of their mission."

Prowl watched as the mechs filed out of the room, glancing up as a shadow fell over him.

"I think you made the right decision. They have always had our protection. It will do them some good to be on their own."

Prowl remained sitting long after Sunstreaker left the room. His processor whirling. Battle computer shifting through scenarios and calculations. It wasn't long before his thoughts turned as they always did to Jazz. Maybe one of these sectors would hold clues that would lead him closer to finding his friend.

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><p><strong>Note 2: <strong>There is a poll on my profile if you would like to vote on the twins alt form. Im not that happy with this chapter, but i hope you guys like it. The next chapter will be mainly the oc twins and we will finally see some stuff from jazz. I would like to point out that this story will not revolve around the twins. They just demanded to have the spotlight for a bit.


	3. Coming to Terms

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Transformers, Hasbro does I think.

**A/N**: the earthbound autobots are on earth time, the twins and the other autobots still on the Crystal Spark are on cybertron time for now.  
>Id like to thank the following people for their reviews: <strong>SIC-Calypso, Red eyes black phoenix, Daklog73, <strong>and** ReveilleWolfie. **The polls has been closed with the winner being A Black Pontiac Trans Am, and a Blue Pontiac Trans Am.

This chapter kind of jumped out at me. It isnt how it was intended to go. Jazz was never meant to be so... Well you will see. But i am happy with it.

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><p><em>Earth: On board the Ark<em>

Ratchet paced back and forth in front of the desk. Grumbling to himself irritably before whirling to face the mech seated in front of him.

"Something has to be done, Prime! If it keeps on this way he is going to get himself offlined. Its getting worse with each battle. Last time I replaced and arm and a leg. This time I had to replace nearly all the chassis. Megatrons shot came within an inch of his spark chamber. An inch!"

Optimus Prime leaned forward, optics on the frustrated medic. "There's not much I can do, Ratchet. He wont talk to anyone about whats bothering him. The best I would be able to do would be to remove him from the battle lines."

"Then do it! Hes not any good to us the way he is right now. He acts like a bond mate missing his other half. I even scanned his spark just to be sure."

Primes optics widened in surprise. " Hes not..."

"No he isn't. I don't know what is wrong, but if he isn't removed from battle duty and placed elsewhere he is going to get himself killed."

"It is going to be hard justifying pulling the SIC from battle duty."

"Your Prime. And you will have my medical records to back you. Besides, everyone has noticed how he has changed. Sideswipe told me the other day that Jazz had snapped at him. And all Sideswipe had done was ask for help in planning a party. He never goes to the rec room anymore other then to get energon. And that's not often enough either. And he never seeks the others out like he used too. I doubt there's a mech on board that hasn't seen his removal coming."

Optimus stared thoughtfully at a blank spot on his desk. "Jazz has a infiltration mission planned in two days time. Its a particularly important mission. Will he be able to do it?"

Ratchet frowned at his prime. "I don't like the idea of sending him behind enemy lines like this, Optimus. But as to whether or not he is medically fit..." Ratchet let out a sigh of air from his vents. "Physically, He will be ready. I've repaired him and he is recharging at the moment. Mentally, I just don't know."

Nodding slightly, Optimus dismissed the medic and leaned back in his chair contemplating Ratchets words. Jazz had been a loose cannon since they had woken from stasis on this new world. Every battle they were in, the saboteur would fight even more recklessly then the last battle. His black and white frame could be easily seen going after the heavy hitters like Megatron and Starscream. There hadn't been a battle that Jazz hadn't come back from injured in some way.

In the beginning he had wondered if it was the pressures of being Second in Command. But Jazz had seemed to be able to handle those easy enough. This upcoming mission was important. Megatron had been massing large amounts of information on the earths resources. Jazz was to go in and get into their computers and find out why.

After hours of debate, he finally made up his processor. He would go ahead and send Jazz on this mission, but after that he would be pulling the saboteur from the battle lines.

_Earth: Nearly a hundred miles from the Ark_

Shade knelt behind an outcropping of rocks, staring down at a long line of vehicles moving at incredible speeds in a straight line below him. Some research indicated that this was a highway, a popular way of travel on this planet.

"Shade! This is amazing! Just look at all the colors!" Blue-Rey swung about in a circle, so excited that he wasn't paying attention to his brothers attempts to pull him down behind the rocks.

"Rey! Get down here now before someone sees you! This sector wasn't even supposed to have life in it, Let alone be organic. Our scans-"

"So our scans were incomplete. Its understandable considering its the only planet in the system capable of supporting organic life." Blue-Rey finally gave in and knelt beside his brother. He continued to scan everything in sight.

Shade gave a sigh of resignation. His twin wasn't really that easily excited. But when he did find something interesting, it was certain that he would hear about it for joors.

"Would you just hurry up and scan a vehicle?"

"Oh alright. Lets see... That ones different, no to boxy. What about that one?"

Following the line his brothers servo pointed out, Shade frowned slightly. "Its rather big isn't it? We need something unassuming. What about that one?" He pointed out a bright red streamlined car.

Rey began to bounce with excitement once again. "Its just right! Fast, low to the ground. And in our colors it will be especially difficult to see at night."

The twins simultaneously scanned the Pontiac Trans Am, and waited while their armor shifted to accommodate the new design. Before they could transform however, a shadow passed by and they glanced up to see a aerial flying overhead.

Rey instantly scanned the jet, his optics widening. "Its a Decepticon!"

"What? Are you certain?" Shade initiated his transformation and waited while his brother did the same.

"Yes!" The twins watched as the jet detected their scans and instantly turned back to investigate.

"Lets go!" Blue-Rey followed as his brother led him down to the highway, their speed and maneuvering slightly sluggish still as they got used to their new forms. Shade was certain they could handle the seeker, but they had promised Prowl and Sunstreaker that they would not confront a decepticon if they crossed one.

They hit the flat surface of the highway a few klicks later, the black trans am followed closely by a dark blue one. Both cars hit their full speed, darting around the other vehicles.

Starscream followed the autobot signals closely, relaying his discovery back to base. Megatron would be so pleased if he was able to bring these two in.

_Back at the Ark_

Jazz growled in frustration, glaring at the door he had just exited. The meeting with Prime had not gone as he would have liked. He hated being lectured. Turning he practically stomped back to his office. As soon as he entered however all the anger vanished. Remorse and guilt flooding in to take its spot.

This had been Prowls office. _Prowler. _His best friend. The one mech that had ever captured his spark completely. And he had left that mech behind. Left him to certain death. Letting the grief swamp him, Jazz slid to the floor infront of the desk.

He knew this was wrong, that he couldn't keep doing this to himself. And yet he couldn't stop it. Prowl had been his best friend for ages. And it was only shortly before leaving Cybertron that he had realized that his feelings for prowl went far deeper then just friendship. Now he wished he'd had the nerve to tell him.

Jazz lay curled up on the floor of the office for hours, drifting in and out of a restless recharge. Much, much later he slowly picked himself up, his tanks gurgling emptily. Almost trudging, he made his way to the rec room.

The room fell silent as he entered, and he felt their optics on him. Following his every movement. He ignored it though and went directly to the energon dispenser. Grabbing two cubes he turned to make his way to the door only to stop just short of running into another mech. Glancing up he paled visibly at the sight of the doorwinged mech.

Jazz remained staring at the gray mech for a few minutes before pushing past him and continuing out the door. He made it to his quarters in no time, nearly running the whole way. He slid past the door and moved to slam it shut, only to have a servo block it. He backed up, further into the room as Bluestreak entered and allowed the door to shut behind him.

"Blue, I'm really not in the mood to talk." Jazz backed up to his berth and sat down, his optics fixed on the floor.

"Good, then you can be quiet and listen."

Jazz jerked his gaze up to meet Bluestreaks determined optics. He leaned back, still staring, unused to the tone the mech had taken with him. Bluestreak moved to sit in a chair nearby, never moving his gaze from the others, as if afraid Jazz would vanish if he did so. It had happened before.

"He wouldn't have liked to see you like this. He would have wanted to see you going on with your life, not hiding away. This behavior would have broken his spark. You know it would have."

Jazz made a small whimpering noise and tore his gaze from Blues and stared down at the floor. "You speak as if he is dead."

"You act as if he is. The truth is, we don't have a clue whether he is or not. Sideswipe is positive they are alive. He says he would know if his brother was dead or not, something to do with being spark split twins."

Blue paused, rising and walking towards the door before turning back. "I know you loved him, Jazz. But I also know something else. If you keep going on the way you have been and Prowl shows up one day, It will be him that finds out your dead. Do you really want that?" Not waiting for an answer the gray mech turned and exited the room.

Jazz sat on the berth for a long time afterwards, contemplating Bluestreaks words. He drank his energon slowly, not even realizing he did so. It was several hours later that he finally rose, determination glinting across his visor. He moved about his quarters, preparing for the mission ahead. And for the first time since he had woken up on this planet, soft music flowed throughout the room.


	4. Friend or Foe?

Disclaimer: I only own the twin younglings, everything else is the property of their respectful owners, and I don't happen to be making any money off this.

Notes: Thank you to everyone that reviewed, faved or put this story on Story Alert. It means a great deal to me.

This chapter was a pain in the aft to write. If id been writing it on paper, my room would be knee deep in wads of paper. I can't tell you how many different rewrites its had. Practically several per day. And then my power cord for the computer melted. Was lucky it didn't bother the computer itself. Also the background characters are not supposed to be any certain mechs or femmes.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4: Friend or Foe?<strong>_

The sector was small, one sun with six planets rotating around it. The Crystal Spark moved through this system slowly, her scanners working overtime. But the supply ships scanners were decepticon in origin, and the autobots never considered that it may be a problem.

They were considering it now as four heavily armed decepticon warships descended out of nowhere to surround them. The smaller ship had weaponry, but not enough to stand up to that kind of threat. In a matter of klicks the largest of the warships had forcefully docked against the Crystal Spark. Another few klicks and the ship had been completely overrun with 'cons. Unable to fend off such odds, Prowl and his crew were forced to surrender.

Nearly two joors later found Prowl and his team crowded into a small holding room on a decepticon base. Prowl had been a captive of the decepticons before, and this was different. In the past, he had held in stasis cuffs, thrown in a cell, and interrogated brutally. They weren't bound by stasis cuffs, and while the room they were in was guarded, it was not a cell or interrogation room.

Prowl shifted, bored and unused to being in such close quarters with other mechs. Glancing over at his SIC, Prowl studied the mech as he paced the small confines of the room. He knew Sunstreaker wasn't handling this all that well. When the 'cons had forced their way onto their ship, Prowl had known the only coarse of action was to surrender. If they had fought, they would have been killed instantly. He'd had a difficult time in convincing the gold twin to stand down.

Prowl shifted again and was about to speak when the door to the room opened and a blue and purple colored mech waved a servo in his direction.

"Prowl, you are to come with me."

Sunstreaker whirled with a snarl. "He isn't going anywhere alone."

"Sunstreaker, Stand down." Prowl moved towards the door.

Their guard shifted a little at the heated glare he was getting from the golden twin. "I am sure it would be alright for one of your crew to come with us."

Prowl stopped and turned back to his crew. "Mirage then, Sunstreaker stay here with the others."

Sunstreaker scowled but moved back to stand near the rest of the crew. As Prowl passed him he leaned close, so that only Sunstreaker could hear him

"If anything happens, get the crew out of here, get the twins and get as far from here as you can. Do not come after us."

Sunstreaker nodded, a look of unease gracing his faceplates.

Exiting the room, Prowl and Mirage followed the guard down the hallway and into a larger part of the base. Here he stopped instantly, stunned at what his optics were showing him.

On any decepticon base he had been on in the past, military order had been paramount. The mechs themselves often rude and violent. Space on a 'con base was at a minimum. Usually used only for necessities. The ships were the same way. The Crystal Spark was a testament to that with its small corridors, hard berths and the lack of windows.

The room that opened before them though was luxurious compared even to the richer sections of Cybertron before the war started. The room was large with several hallways leading away. In the center of the room a fountain gurgled, the crystals adorning it reminiscent of the Praxian gardens. On the walls, pictures of Cybertron hung, showing the planet and its towns in all their former glory. Statues stood here and there, many of them Prowl was able to recognize as heroes from a planet lost. Music that he didn't recognize played softly in the background.

Mechs and Femmes walked in groups, chatting softly. Some sat on benches, leaning against loved ones with their optics closed. Sparklings ran here and there. One small blue sparkling fell, tripping over the foot of a statue. The femmes faceplates scrunched up and she began to whimper. Almost immediately another sparkling was at her side. The white mechling knelt and pulled her close, whispering in the femmes audios before standing and tugging her with him.

Prowl smiled slightly as he watched the two sparklings leave the room. A small noise from their guard dragged his attention back to the present and he moved towards the hallway the mech was leading them to. He hesitated, glancing back to take one last look at the room, wondering what Jazz would have thought of it.

The guard opened a door and motioned them through. Prowl and Mirage entered, noticing that their guard did not follow. The room was an office, a large desk occupied it, with two chairs in front. Prowls gaze fell on the mech behind the desk and was instantly at battle ready. He tensed, taking note of everything in the room that might be able to be used as a weapon. Behind him, Mirage hissed and crouched, readying for an attack which Prowl stayed with a servo held out in front of him.

Shockwave leaned back in his chair, giving the impression of smiling slightly. He motioned towards the chairs, which both autobots ignored. The purple mech studied them for a few klicks before sighing and leaning forwards.

"I am not your enemy.."

"The very fact that we are here would be evidence to the contrary." Prowls optics were narrowed and he studied Shockwave intently.

Shockwave chuckled. "I couldn't exactly have you stumbling upon our base then attacking it now could could I? You are not prisoners here. You were brought here so that we would have a chance to talk. Once we are done, you will be free to go."

"Why should I believe you?"

Shockwave leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and bringing his servos together. He locked gazes with Prowl.

"Because if I had wanted you dead, you would be. With four ships, your little supply ship could have been destroyed easily. Besides I could have killed you long ago if I had wanted."

Mirage growled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Did you ever wonder why it was so easy for your group to get energon? Ever wonder why the decepticon troops never caught you when they could have? Why Praxus was ignored when we were searching the planet for energy resources? Did you really think it should have been that easy for a six mech team with sparklings to walk into a base and fly out with a decepticon supply ship?"

Shockwave studied the incredulous mechs in front of him. "And did you never wonder, Prowl, just why a supply ship had the upgrade parts for two younglings in her hold?"

"What do you want from us?" Prowl couldn't deny what Shockwave said, it all made sense in a twisted way.

"Nothing. If you give your word as the Autobot SIC that you will not launch any kind of attack on us, you will be free to do as you wish."

Prowl glanced at Mirage, taking note of the wary look on his face. It was impossible to gleam anything from Shockwaves faceplates, but Prowl agreed anyways. He had to consider the lives of his team.

"You have my word."

Shockwave nodded in return. "Please sit, we have more to discuss."

Mirage shifted uneasily. They may have a truce but it was hard to push old instincts away. "What more is there?"

"Megatron."

Prowls doorwings jerked to full attention. "What about him?"

"The location of this base is not by accident. The Nemesis crash landed on the third planet in the neighboring system. Megatron does not know we are here, and I prefer to keep it that way. We watch to make certain that he poses no threat to us."

Prowl froze. "What system?"

Shockwaves single optic widened. "The same system that you sent a recon team to. Don't tell me you sent the younglings there? They weren't on the ship and we did notice the recon shuttle you launched."

"It was a training mission, Our scans showed nothing in the area." He paused. "Of course, our scans didn't pick you up either."

Shockwave leaned back slightly. " I am sure they will be fine, the Ark crashed there as well, and the autobots usually do a very good job of keeping Megatron in line."

Before Prowl could respond to this, Shockwave received a comm.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt but we are receiving some Intel from the skycams on Earth. Starscream seems to be up to something."

"Put the transmission through to the monitor in my office."

"Yes Sir."

A couple of klicks later the monitor flickered on and Prowl leaned forward, watching intently.

Starscream flew low over the road, his missiles causing mass destruction. Some of the vehicles were completely destroyed while others were knocked out of the way. His targets appeared to be two smaller cars. One car was solid black while the other a deep blue with black trim. Recognition flared with Prowl and he sat on one of the chairs infront of Shockwaves desk heavily.

"So that's where the twins got to." Shockwave snorted slightly and opened a comm line. "Do we have any intel on the Autobots? Are they responding to this?"

"Yes, Sir. Optimus Prime and three other mechs are already en-route."

"Good" Shockwave leaned back and refocused on the screen, aware that Prowls optics hadn't moved from the monitor.

The twins darted off the road, apparently trying to get away from the congested highway. But it was all too soon apparent that their new alt modes were not designed for off road travel. Their wheels bogged down in the loose desert sand and slowed them to almost a crawl.

Shade transformed first, sliding sideways to end in a crouch. His brother ended his own transformation behind him. Blue-Rey pulled a energy bow from subspace and aimed it at the seeker. Pulling back on the string, he hesitated as a line of energy formed and solidified into an arrow. Taking careful aim he let loose and watched as the energy arrow grazed the seekers canopy.

"I know an energy bow is not an ideal battle weapon, but how could he have missed at that range?" Shockwave asked incredulously.

"Watch." Prowl motioned at the monitor.

The arrows glancing contact forced Starscream to jerk and roll towards the ground. Shade was waiting and as the jet passed overhead he leaped, grabbing a hold of a wings edge, he jerked down hard. Rolling away, the black twin was on his feet and watching as the seeker crashed nose first into the ground.

"It was planned?"

Prowl nodded, smirking at the purple bot. "They were raised to only kill if needed. That goes even for decepticons."

Behind Prowl, Mirage jerked and sucked in a quick ventful of air. "Prime!"

Prowls gaze was instantly back on the monitor, watching as Starscream shook himself off and hurriedly left while the twins turned to face the incoming Autobots. He recognized each of the new arrivals, Prime himself, Ironhide, Ratchet and Sideswipe. Their armor a bit different since he had last seen them. But they were unmistakable.

Prowl relaxed slightly, glad that the younglings were safe. The monitor went dark and he turned towards the purple mech. Shockwave stood, offering him a servo. He stared at it for a couple klicks before accepting the offer.

"Go with my guard, he will take you back to your team. You have much to discuss, I'm sure. He will show you and your team to some quarters for the night. Tomorrow we will begin upgrading the Crystal Spark for its journey."

Prowl and Mirage spoke at the same time.

"Upgrade?"

"Journey?"

Shockwave laughed slightly. "You'll now doubt want to go after the twins? And of course meet up with the other autobots." He paused and waited for Prowls nod before continuing. "Then since you will be heading to a planet with Decepticons on it, it would only make sense if your ship could detect them and protect itself."

He moved to the door and exited before Prowl could say anymore. Indecision suddenly hit Prowl and he began to wonder if it was smart trusting one of the mechs that had at one time been the second most feared on Cybertron.

He followed the guard out the room, aware that Mirage trailed along behind. Neither of them were looking forward to the conversation with the rest of the team. And yet for all the doubt clouding his spark, he couldn't push back the excitement of knowing that maybe, just maybe he would get to see Jazz soon.


	5. Stay or Flee?

_Disclaimer: Not mine, And not making any money off of this._

_Notes: A great big thank you to camfield, kageokami666, mmouse15, and thalanee of LJ for their help and ideas and for kick-starting my own. This chapter is dedicated to them._

_Also a thanks to my reviewers and those that have faved or put this story on alert. And a shoutout to Blitz-Krazi-1 for being the 20th reviewer. I was going to wait to post a little while longer in order to get the story to the point of were Prowl was on earth, but as the chapter started to get longer and requests for an update came I decided to post this. Hope everyone likes it._

_This chapter is not Beta-read. -_blah_- Indicates bond speak between the twins._

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Night and Day<strong>

_The mech stood on the edge of the fallen city, visor glowing softly in the darkness and casting an eerie glow. A wind blew gently, winding in between crumbling buildings and echoing through abandoned roads. The mech shivered slightly as the wind carried soft voices, so many, many voices. The voices were whispering indecipherable words, each sorrowful and sad. _

_One voice was a little louder then the others, and Jazz found himself reluctantly following it. He turned a corner, expecting to find nothing in the long dead city, air catching in his intakes as he came face to face with Prowl. Joy and love exploded within his spark, only to die instantly as his optics took in the mech before him. Prowls frame was gray, the optics that stared back at Jazz were black, dead and lifeless. _

"_P-prowl?" Jazz whispered, the soft spoken words catching in his vocalizer._

_The lifeless mech moved forward, raising his servos to grasp Jazz by the arms. Confused, Jazz held still while Prowl gave a tug and pulled him up against his chest. Normally he would have been freaked out. But this was Prowl. And alive or not, he still loved him. Jazz let his head nestle in against the gray chassis, feeling the servos on his arms tighten, pulling him even closer, before suddenly shoving him away._

_Jazz fell, stunned he stared up at Prowl. The gray mechs face had changed, losing the blank look and taking on an angry scowl. Prowl took a step towards him, and Jazz scooted back, suddenly frightened. _

"_How could you do it, Jazz?" Prowls doorwings were pointed upwards aggressively. "How could you leave us behind to die? I thought we were friends. But you left us behind on a dieing planet."_

_Jazz whimpered. Backing further from Prowl, he got to his pedes. "Prowl, it wasn't like that. You know it wasn't!"_

_He stared at the mech he loved, his processor telling him this couldn't be happening. He backed up until his back hit a crumbling wall, unable to retreat further he watched as Prowl advanced on him. Prowls faceplates twisted into a scowl and as he neared Jazz, he raised a servo to strike the saboteur. _

An alarm sounded and Jazz jerked awake, heaving air though his intakes hard. He stared around his quarters, unbalanced at the sudden change of environment. Sitting upright in his berth, he took a few more minutes to collect himself, shoving the memories of the nightmare from his processor. The alarm pinged again and he forced himself to get up and get ready for the coming staff meeting.

Blue-Rey paced the cell he was in, soft growls escaping ever so often. Pausing he glanced over to where his brother sat on the berth, his legs crossed under him. Rey frowned, wondering how his brother could sit in such a pose for so long. He started to say something to Shade, but refrained. His brother was deep in the Arks systems, hacking into the autobots databanks. Continuing to pace, he glanced out towards the door to the brig, where their guard sat.

It had been some time, but the mech sitting there bore a striking resemblance to an image Sunstreaker had once shown him of his own brother. There were differences of course, the red armor had been shifted to accommodate a new alt form, but the optics were the same. He considered asking, but decided against it as he felt his brother pulling himself from the Arks mainframe.

Shade nudged his brother over their spark bond. They rarely talked this way, but in the Arks brig it was the only way for private communication. Rey sat down on the berth opposite his brother and opened his side of the bond.

-What did you find?-

-A lot. I don't have time to go into it all right now, but Megatron also crash landed on this planet. We need to get word to Prowl. We have been out of contact for several cycles and the Crystal Spark is no doubt en-route.-

Blue-Rey leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. -I don't see the issue here. So Prowl brings the Crystal Spark here. Isn't that a good thing? The Autobots are also here.-

-There are six mechs aboard the Crystal Spark. Its nothing more then a supply ship. There are more then twenty decepticons on this planet. What do you think will happen when they enter the system? Megatron will either attempt to greet the supply ship, thinking they're allies, or he will attack it, suspecting a trap.-

-I see what you mean. What's your plan?-

The brothers leaned forward, chatting quietly over their bond. Outside the cell, Sideswipe watched them, curious about what they could be talking about.

Jazz shifted, leaning back in his chair to rest his pedes on the table. He watched as Red Alert gave his report, only half paying attention. He had already given his report, as grim as it had been. The evidence he had retrieved from the Nemesis had been disturbing. It hinted at the fact that Megatron had been using the search for energon as a coverup. A coverup for a plan that he hadn't been able to discover yet. And without knowing that, it was futile to try coming up with a plan to stop him.

Ratchet leaned forward as Red Alert sat down, and Jazz drew his attention back to the meeting, curious about the medical report on the younglings they had captured. He'd been going to talk with them, but hadn't had the time yet.

"The younglings are as we suspected, twins. Not just that but they are spark-split twins." Ratchet paused as that brought several soft exclamations from the senior staff members.

"I spoke with them briefly as I was doing their examinations, they claim to be from Cybertron, but as we know that's just not possible."

"Are we certain that they were not created on Cybertron? And is there evidence that they could be working for the decepticons?" Optimus Prime glanced around the table as he asked this, directing the question too everyone, but it was still Ratchet that answered.

"They are at best 300 vorns old. There is no way they could have been on Cybertron, it was destroyed a long time before they were even created. As for the decepticon part-" Ratchet paused and vented heavily. "Its completely possible. Their frames bear Autobot qualities, but a lot of the upgrades made to them have been done so with 'Con parts."

Ratchet paused and reached out a servo to touch the buttons on the keypad infront of him. A holographic image appeared above the table. Pushing another couple of buttons, the image changed to show several different mech parts, obviously images of the younglings armor.

"The only thing contradicting their decepticon origin is this." He pointed to several of the images. "The upgrades were done by a professional. A great deal of care was put into upgrading their armor. Decepticons are notorious for slapping upgrades on a frame. Many of the younglings upgraded in this manner rarely make it to their mechhood. But for these two, there are no conflicts in their upgrades or programming. When we were on Cybertron there were only a few medics capable of this kind of work. At the moment, I don't know of any surviving ones, aside from myself."

Jazz's optics narrowed behind his visor, causing it to flicker. "What about Hook?"

"Hook is a mockery of a medic. He couldn't have done this kind of work."

"This isn't getting us very far." Prime turned to face Jazz. "Jazz, take Ironhide and get the younglings. We will question them here."

Jazz nodded and almost bounced to his feet. He was out the door and down the hall before Ironhide even had a chance to get up. A couple of minutes later he was at the door to the brig, waiting for Ironhide to catch up.

The red armored mech ambled up, and they entered the brig together. Jazz froze at the scene that greeted him, only barely able to stop from laughing out loud. Ironhide had no problem with it and was currently laughing hard enough that it was probably heard throughout the Ark.

The twins were gone, but Sideswipe remained. He was currently laying on the berth, His arms stretched over his head with stasis cuffs locking them to the cell bars. Another set of stasis cuffs were hooked to his left leg and locked to the berths support.

Snickering, Jazz moved into the cell and began to remove the restraints from a oddly silent Sideswipe. As he did so, he sent Ironhide off to locate the younglings.

The twins had made it out of the brig, and were currently hiding in what appeared to be a cargo room. The autobots had gotten on their trail a lot soon then they had expected and they had been forced to duck in here. Shade glanced over to where his brother crouched beside him. Rey had been quiet since leaving the brig, and while their current position required silence, He was more concerned by the uneasiness coming off of his brother.

-What's up?-

Rey glanced at him before abruptly sitting down, his shoulders slumping. -This is wrong.-

-What is?-

Rey shot him an incredulous look, then waved a hand to at the unconscious mech laying on the floor nearby. -This is! They're autobots! We are autobots. Yet here we are acting like 'cons! We tricked Sideswipe, Sunstreaker's brother, and now we have knocked another mech offline and are sneaking around their ship. Whats next? Killing one of them?-

-Don't be ridiculous. We are only doing what is necessary in order to warn Prowl and the others-

When put in that way though, Shade couldn't deny that their actions grated against his own morals. -What would you suggest?-

-Go to the Prime. Tell him everything. He can contact the Crystal Spark as it enters the sector and he can provide backup if needed.-

A noise nearby had Shade drawing one of his swords from subspace on instinct. Realizing what he had done, he instantly put it away, shame flooding through him. Letting his shoulders slump, he offlined his optics for a few clicks before onlining them again as he stood up straight.

"Let's go."

Optimus Prime was lost in thought as he left the command center and headed for his office. The youngling twins had managed to do a little damage before simply vanishing. Nothing serious, just an embarrassed Sideswipe, and another mech that had ended up in the medbay with a slight processor ache. Not to mention the various traps that had been found. But that had been hours ago. His team had been certain they had cornered the younglings in one of the aft cargo compartments, but the two had simply vanished.

Keying in the code for his office door, Optimus entered only to stop and stare incredulously at the two dark colored frames inside. The black colored twin sat in his chair, his pedes propped up on the desk, while the blue one sat on the edge of the desk. Both were staring back at him intensely, with just a hint of nervousness.

Prime studied them for a couple of minutes before allowing the door to close behind him as he stepped fully into his office to face the twins.


	6. Almost There

Disclaimer: These things get a bit tiring, but Transformers and its associated characters are not mine.

Notes: I would like to point out, that while most of the time Shade and Blue-Rey act like adults, they are still younglings. Also a great big thank you to everyone that's Reviewed, Faved, Alerted, or just sent me a message. I'm on vacation and the next chapter is already half written, so you shouldn't have long to wait for it. Unless of course, something happens to my computer. Which the way its acting, isn't impossible.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 6: Almost There<strong>_

Prowl studied the image of the small blue planet slowly growing larger on the monitor. Such a tiny, unassuming planet. And yet, as it came closer, feelings stirred in his spark, confusing him. Excitement, anticipation, uncertainty, and fear.

Excitement and anticipation, because he would likely be seeing Jazz within a few short cycles. He felt fear because even though he hadn't seen Jazz in vorns he was still certain he loved him. And while he was also certain he had heard Jazz say he loved him, he didn't know if he still would after all this time.

And last, that feeling of uncertainty because he knew he would be facing the Prime soon as well. How was he supposed to explain that he had in effect, joined forces with Shockwave, a decepticon that had been the cause of thousands of autobot deaths.

A servo clasped his shoulder tightly, and he glanced up to see Sunstreaker standing beside him. The golden twins face was as impassive as ever, but he understood the show of support and clasped the others servo briefly in silent thanks.

Blaster spoke up then and Prowl turned to face him. "We will be arriving with in the cycle. What type of approach will we be doing?"

"As soon as we are within range, locate the Ark. Shockwave believes that Megatron plans to attack it directly soon and I want to be near them if that happens." Turning he met the gaze of every mech in the command center. "We are going to have to be on alert. If the twins have not yet told the Autobots who we are, we may be under attack by our own kind. And there is no way to know for certain just how the Decepticons on the planet will react to our arrival either."

First Aid shifted uncomfortably. "Just what are we going to do if the Autobots attack?"

Prowl turned back to face the monitor. The blue planet almost filled the screen now. "We withdraw until we can identify ourselves. I will not attack our own kind. Blaster. Are we close enough to contact the twins?"

"Yes sir, but we are not receiving a response to our comms."

There was a low growl from Sunstreaker, and he began to pace the room. As he passed, Prowl reached out placing a servo on the gold shoulder, mimicking the former frontliners previous move.

"There are several reasons they may not be responding. It may not mean trouble."

Sunstreaker nodded, but still went back to his pacing.

Prowl watched for a few clicks and then telling them to inform him when they were closer, he left the command center to make his way to his quarters. He needed time alone to think and plan just what they would do when they finally arrived.

_In the Primes office on the Ark._

Optimus Prime debated for a moment on what to do about the two younglings watching him nervously. Deciding against calling for security, he moved further into the room.

"I assume you are not here to assassinate me, otherwise you would not be sitting in the open. So care to tell me just how you managed to get around the teams of mechs searching for you? And why you're in my office."

Shade slid back, removing his pedes from the top of the desk. He started to stand, to offer the Prime his seat, but settled back down at a motion of Primes hand and watched as the large mech settled into one of the visitor chairs in front of the desk.

"We are Autobots. I don't know what we were originally, but we were raised and trained by bots. We strayed from that training when we tried to escape. That is why we are here."

Blue-Rey took over speaking after his brother, his optics slanted at the floor, refusing to lift them to face the Prime.

"All we wanted was to be able to warn our guardians that Megatron was on this planet. We are ashamed that we attacked bots in able to attempt this."

The Prime regarded them intently, taking in the black bots unwavering stare and the blue bots nervous fidgeting.

"If that was all you wanted, why didn't you come to us? Why didn't you just ask to be allowed to contact your guardians?"

Blue-Rey jerked his gaze up, his optics finally meeting those of the Primes. He began to speak fast, almost rivaling Bluestreak.

"When we tried to tell the medic where we were from, he didn't believe us. If something as small as our origin was so unbelievable, there would be no way anyone would believe we wanted to contact autobots on a decepticon ship in order to warn them."

The Prime stiffened, jerking straight in his chair. At his movement the twins tensed and glanced at one another. Optimus narrowed his optics at the twins.

"Maybe you had better start at the beginning."

Several hours passed as the twins told the Prime everything. From their earliest memories on Cybertron to their arrival on Earth. They explained about having no choice but to enter stasis, something that was not recommended for sparklings. They told of how their sparks had continued to age slowly while they slept for just under four millenia. And they told of the countless upgrades First Aid had been forced to make to their frames in order to dispel the extra energy running rampant through their systems. And that led to how they had become so well trained in order to be able to use the upgrades. By the end of their story, both were fidgeting, unused to being still for so long.

Through it all, the Prime sat and listened intently, not interrupting once. Their story came to an end and they fell silent, watching him. He could tell from their faces that the younglings were expecting that he wouldn't believe them. But he had heard the truth and seriousness in their words and found himself believing their story.

Before he could formulate a response though, there was a slight thudding outside the room and the door to his office was suddenly thrust open. He stood and whirled to face the intruder, instinctively putting himself between the twins and the mech entering the room.

"Optimus! I've figured it out!"

Jazz slid to a halt, taking in his primes startled defensive posture and the twins behind him. He stiffened then relaxed as Optimus relaxed.

"Ah so that's where they got to."

"We need to call a meeting, there is much to discuss. But before that, did you say you had figured something out?"

Jazz's attention instantly shifted from being curious about the twins, to being all business. He waved a servo in their direction.

"Not sure you want it discussed in front of them."

"They are fine. We may be relying on their assistance shortly."

Shade and Blue-Rey jerked their gazes from Jazz to Prime. Almost comically they spoke at the same time.

"You believe us?"

Optimus Prime turned to study them. "Yes I do. Your story has a ring of truth to it, not to mention there are parts that you would have had no way of knowing otherwise. Now Jazz, what was so important that it had you running in here?"

"I've figured out Megatrons plan. I went back through the data I've collected from my trips to the Nemesis. Not just from this last one, but from several times in the past as well. I also correlated it with other incidents reported around the planet that had been blamed on the 'cons. These incidents always happened at the same time as major battle with Megatron and his forces. I believe the battles were a coverup for Megatron to be able to gather the materials needed to get the Nemesis off the ground. Or out of the water as the case may be."

Prime stiffened. "If that's the case, and the Nemesis gets air-born, we will be unable to defend against a direct attack. Call a meeting, Jazz. We need to come up with possible ways to defend the Ark against an air attack. With her weapons buried in the volcano, we may also need to consider leaving."

Jazz nodded and moved quickly towards the exit, only hesitating when Blue-Rey spoke up.

"May we contact the Crystal Spark? They may be close enough to help by now."


	7. Reunion

_**Disclaimer:**_ Don't own. Never Did. Never Will. And No money is being made off of this.

_**Notes:**_ Chapter 7 was written almost a week ago. But I was not happy with it so it sat there. I debated on what was wrong with it until one night I had a dream. As soon as I woke I started writing. And so this chapter was born. I like it a lot better then the original chapter and I hope you will like it as well. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, alerted or faved this story. Or even just read it.

_**Warning:**_ I guess I actually need a warning. Surprising huh? Some mech/mech kissing. That's all.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 7: Reunited<strong>_

Prowl growled frustratedly as his arm slammed straight out, his fist connecting with solid metal. He crouched and whirled, his left leg sweeping out to swipe his opponents legs out from under it. He straightened as the drone fell. The tactician started forward to reset the drone, only to jerk to a halt as another drone flew past him and slammed into a wall. He began to turn in the direction the drone had come from only to duck as a servo came in his direction. Prowl quickly went on the defensive, blocking another servo headed for his helm, then jumping to avoid having his own feet swept out from under him.

Sunstreaker pushed his advantage, determined to keep Prowl on the defensive. The black and white bot backed up as he blocked several rapid punches. He grunted as one of the punches connected with his shoulder. The bots continued to land blows heavily against each others armor until they were both exhausted.

Prowl straightened and backed away from Sunstreaker, his arms raised defensively in front of him in case the other bot wasn't finished yet. But Sunstreaker didn't have the energy for more and lowered himself cautiously to sit on the floor. Lowering his arms, Prowl joined his SIC on the floor.

"Care to talk about it?"

"What's going to happen when we join the others?" Sunstreaker shifted, searching for a more comfortable position.

Prowl Frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I know I'm not really cut out to be an officer. I've been your Second in Command because you needed it. But all the same, I'm not sure I really want to go back to being a front-liner."

"I wish I could say you wouldn't have to. But I'm not even certain what position I'll have. Jazz has undoubtedly been promoted to SIC. And I have no wish to take that away from him."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Am I that transparent?"

Sunstreaker laughed softly. "Kinda. Your voice gets softer and your optics dim slightly when you talk about him."

Silence fell between the two bots for awhile. Eventually Prowl spoke up again. "But that is not all that's bothering you is it?"

Sunstreaker glared at him for a moment before glancing away. He vented a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't understand why we are just sitting here."

"Because Prime-"

"Prime ordered it, I know. But that was three cycles ago. How long are we supposed to hold position and maintain comm silence?"

Prowl shifted uncomfortably, but before he could answer, Sunstreaker spoke up again.

"I watched you earlier Prowl. You only train that way when your worried. You know as well as I do that something is wrong. Prime would never have us wait here that long."

"I know. Come on."

Prowl stood and offered his SIC a servo, grunting slightly as he helped the golden twin to his feet. The two left the cargo room/training room and headed towards the command center. As they walked, something occurred to Prowl and he turned towards his companion.

"Have you felt anything, or heard anything from Sideswipe over your bond?"

Sunstreaker scowled. "No, nothing but a few echos. First Aid says its because we've been apart for so long. He claims we could be standing next to each other and not feel more until we synchronize our sparks again."

Prowl nodded, uncertain what to say under the circumstance. They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Prowl contemplated what he was about to do. It seemed like such a little thing. But before all this had happened, he had always followed orders to the letter. And a Primes order was to be never disobeyed. Sunstreaker was correct though. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his spark. He pulled himself from his reverie as they entered the command center of their small ship. Blaster and Mirage turned to face them as they entered, both wearing identical looks of worry.

"Blaster, prepare to break Comm silence. I want to contact Shockwave."

"Yes Sir."

_**Three Earth days earlier, onboard the Ark.**_

Jazz leaned back in his chair, letting it wobble slightly on its back legs. He dimmed his visor and glanced around the room. Every mech was here, including Sideswipe, except for the Prime. He frowned. It was unusual for the Prime to be late for a meeting. He was almost always first. At least since Prowl wasn't here anymore.

But it had also been strange earlier. When the twins had requested to contact a ship named the Crystal Spark, he had questioned the Prime about it. He had been told that everything would be explained later. He vented a sigh and continued his observation of the mechs in the room. If it had been serious, Prime wouldn't have hesitated to tell him.

As his gaze passed Ratchet, he noticed the bot frowning deeply at Sideswipe. While it was unusual for the front-liner to be there, it wasn't that odd. He shifted to look at the red twin, and a concerned frown crossed his own features as he watched Sideswipe absently rubbing his chest plates. Almost as if his spark was bothering him.

Before either he or Ratchet could say anything though, the doors to the room opened and Optimus Prime entered followed by the youngling twins. Shade and Blue-Rey seemed to be practically bouncing with excitement. Which wasn't odd in itself. But it was odd that the Prime had seemed to catch the excitement as well. Especially with the serious nature of the meeting.

Optimus Prime _was_ excited. Leaving behind Prowl and his team on Cybertron had been hard on every member of his crew. With Megatrons attack looming before them, the news that the lost team had survived would help boost already low spirits.

He had barely taken his seat when the perimeter alarms sounded. Every mech in the room bolted for the door, with the exception of the twins. Prime paused on his way out of the room and called Jazz and Sideswipe back.

"Jazz, you and Sideswipe take care of the younglings. Shade, Blue-Rey. Not a word of the Crystal Spark to anyone. We may need their help, and if something happens, it will be better if the decepticons don't know about them."

Four resounding "Yes Sirs!" echoed in the room as the Prime hurried out.

"Prowl. I was expecting to hear from you sooner. We have lost contact with our surveillance systems on earth. But the last information we gathered indicated that the decepticons were launching an attack on the Ark." Soundwaves image rippled slightly on the viewer. Static echoed though the transmission.

"Ground or Air attack?" Prowl glanced at his SIC and frowned slightly as the mech absentmindedly rubbed at his chestplates.

"Previous reports suggested an air attack. But the movement of the troops definitely indicated a ground attack. There is another issue as well. Megatron is aware that we are here. It seems he used Starscream's attack on the younglings as a way to track out surveillance equipment. I have already launched several ships, but they are several cycles behind you."

Prowl could hear Sunstreakers systems running offbeat, and the mech was practically holding his chest and grimacing at this point. Prowl raised a servo and First Aid was at their side instantly. Sunstreaker resisted as he was pulled from the room, until a barked order from Prowl made him follow the other mech meekly.

Prowl turned to face the viewer again as Shockwave continued. "Megatron must not be allowed to leave that planet. Bots here will still follow him if they believe they have no other choice."

"We will do our best to see that it doesn't happen." Prowl ended the communication and gave orders to resume comm silence. That done, he headed out of the room and towards the med-bay.

Jazz shot a concerned glance at Sideswipe. Three days and the bots systems now sounded so out of tune it wasn't even funny. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to be in constant spark pain as well. They were hidden deep in the belly of the Ark, where few bots ever came.

Three days ago, a ground force of decepticons had attacked the Ark directly and took control. Jazz had wanted with all his spark to join the battle. And he knew Sideswipe had felt the same way. But they had followed the Primes orders and went deeper into the Ark, almost to the point where the volcano had breached the ships hull. Since then, Jazz had made several scouting trips and discovered that the 'cons had full control over the Ark and seemed to be cannibalizing its systems.

A soft noise captured Jazz's attention and he turned to watch as the dark blue youngling approached Sideswipe. A quiet argument ensued with the larger mech refusing to let the younger one near him. One of Jazz's biggest surprises had been how the twin younglings had handled themselves. They were silent when required and they didn't complain. Even he felt like complaining. Though it wouldn't do any good.

Sideswipe shoved Rey away from him, the smaller bot landing hard on his aft. Shade growled and darted forward, pinning the red twin in a matter of seconds. Jazz started forward then stopped at a growl from the black youngling.

"It's for his own good. There is something wrong and Rey can help. Stubborn bot that he is won't cooperate, so its going to be the hard way."

Jazz said nothing, but backed away, allowing Rey to move in closer. He watched closely though, observing how Rey swiveled his wrist and changed his servo into a scanner. Shade tightened his grip on the mech he held down as his brother ran the scanner over Sideswipes chestplates. After a couple minutes, Rey leaned back on his heals with a sigh and his brother loosened the hold he had on the red mech.

"Well?" Jazz noticed how Sideswipe made no further attempts to get away, seeming to have trouble venting air through his frame.

"His spark is too far out of alignment from his twin. It's reaching out and finding nothing to connect with. Left unchecked, he will die." Rey shifted the attachment that had been his servo, shifting through several tools before settling on a rather crude looking one.

Shade glanced over at his brother. "I know you studied sparks, but do you know enough to help him?"

"Only a true spark merge with Sunstreaker will completely cure him. But I should be able to make it easier on him for now. I just have to realign his spark signature with Sunstreakers last known configuration."

Jazz narrowed his optics at the youngling, causing his visor to flicker. " And just how do you know what Sunstreakers last spark configuration was?"

Rey shifted and was saved from answering by a soft thud echoing down the nearby hallway. Jazz crouched and moved quietly towards the noise.

"Do what you can for him."

Prowl shifted uncomfortably and raised a servo to motion his companions forward. Blaster and Mirage moved into the next suitable hiding spot and Prowl shook his head as the two jostled each other slightly. He would have preferred to have Sunstreaker on this one, but while the mech was stable, retaking the Ark wasn't something he'd be able to do. So Prowl had left him in command of the Crystal Spark with orders to stop any decepticons leaving the planet. By any means necessary.

The two bots bumped each other again as they moved, a low thud sounding through the hallways. Prowl frowned and motioned for the two mechs to remain where they were while he went ahead. He intended to scout out the number of decepticons onboard and determine if it was possible to free any of the bots to aid in retaking the ship.

The tactician had barely cleared three more hallways when the soft sound of metal on metal reached his audios. Before he could respond though, a sharp blade pressed against the cables in his throat and a servo wrapped tightly around him, holding him in place. He froze and turned up all his sensors in an attempt to identify his attacker.

Jazz held his captive tightly, not wanting to offline the bot until he could get a positive ID on him. He tried to catalog the mechs details, and it wasn't until he got a rather nasty smack in the helm that he realized the mech had doorwings. And as far as he knew, there wasn't a single decepticon with doorwings.

He relaxed his hold and dropped into a defensive crouch as the mech jerked away from him and whirled to face him. Jazz froze in shock as his headlights illuminated the mech in front of him. The other mech stared back at him, wearing an almost identical look of disbelief.

"Prowl?"

The tactician relaxed his defensive posture and allowed his optics to take in the features of a bot he had been afraid he would never see again. From the soft blue glow of his visor to the curves highlighted by the bots headlights. Prowl took a step towards the saboteur only to be pushed back several steps as the mech launched himself at him.

"Jazz." Prowl whispered before wrapping his servos around the mech now clinging to him. Jazz snuggled in as close as he could get, tucking his helm into the other mechs neck. Prowl pushed at his shoulders gently in an attempt to put a couple inches between them, but the black and white bot only whimpered and buried himself even deeper against Prowls armor.

Prowl relished in the closeness, but he wanted to see Jazz's faceplates so he pushed a little more firmly and this time Jazz allowed it and leaned back so he could look into his friends optics. He was surprised though when Prowl leaned back in and kissed him softly. Both mechs froze for a moment, startled. Then Jazz offlined his visor and began to return the kiss.

Neither expected the instant spark of connection that shifted through them. Prowl growled deeply, letting it rumble through him to Jazz. Their glossa warred with each other at first before softening into a playful exploration. Their servos wandered. It would have been easy to let the moment take them and deal with everything else later. But that wasn't who they were, and after a couple minutes the two bots slowly pulled away from each other.

Jazz shifted back soon after, though. Not quite willing to be that far from Prowl yet. His spark shifted slightly when the other mech pressed his forehelm against his own. His voice, when he spoke was but a whisper, reluctant to break the spell that seemed to have been cast over them.

"I've missed you, Prowl. I didn't think I'd never see you again."

A noise sounded behind them, an embarrassed clearing of a vent. Both bots whirled to face the intruder instantly, battle ready. Shade backed away a step while managing to look embarrassed. He raised his servos in an attempt to prove that he wasn't a threat.

"Sorry for interrupting, but when Jazz didn't return I was concerned there was a problem."

Jazz straightened, his processor suddenly all business. "How is Sideswipe? Was Rey able to help him?"

"Sideswipe is stable, but only a merge with Sunstreaker will completely cure him."

Prowl stepped forward. "Lets collect our teams and retreat to the Crystal Spark for the moment. We are going to need everyone we have in order to free the autobots."

Shade nodded and instantly left, eager to be away from the two elder bots. Jazz snickered as he watched the black twins frame vanish into the darkness. He started after the youngling only to be tugged to a stop.

Prowl pulled him close and ran a servo over the other black and whites faceplates. Jazz leaned into the touch, enjoying simply being near the bot after so long. All too soon though, Prowl pulled away and started down the hallway in the direction Shade had left. Jazz scurried to catch up.

No words were needed as the two made their way down the hall, intent on bringing their teams together. Words would come later, for now the two mechs had to concentrate on rescuing the rest of the autobots.


End file.
